For New York Mets Fans, The Wait Is Finally Over

After a sweep of the Washington Nationals and finding themselves in first place Tuesday morning, New York Mets fans are understandably giddy.

In 1984 a young New York Mets team went into Wrigley field late in the season and got swept by the eventual division winners, the Chicago Cubs.

In 1985, the Mets battled the St. Louis Cardinals late in the year, only to come up short once again. Cardinals’ second baseman Tommy Herr seemed to get a big hit every game against the Mets that year.

Herr finished the ‘85 season with 8 home runs and 110 RBI. Herr and Paul Molitor are the only players in the history of MLB to have 100 RBI and less than 10 home runs. Molitor did it in 1996 when he had 9 homeruns and 113 RBI.

The Mets hosted the first place Washington Nationals this weekend at Citi Field, perfectly setting up their three young, talented arms: Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets swept Nationals and are now tied for first place in the National League East.

Against first place Washington, the Mets starters struck out 25 batters and only walked one in three games.

Lucas Duda continues to lead the Mets in offense. He now has 9 home runs in his last 10 games. He became the first player since Marcus Thames (2008 Detroit Tigers) to have 8 consecutive hits, all be home runs in 24 at bats.

The Mets were the big winners at the trading deadline. All told they acquired:

Pitcher: Tyler Clippard 18 saves

LF: Kelly Johnson, .265 batting average, 10 homeruns, 35 RBIs

3B: Juan Uribe, .269 batting average, 9 homeruns, 25RBIs

OF: Yoenis Cespedes, .290 batting average, 18 homeruns, 61 RBIs

With Cespedes in the lineup (or as Jerry Seinfeld Tweeted “a Cespedes for the Rest of us”) the Mets now have three legitimate power hitters, (Duda, 21 HR, Curtis Granderson, 17 HR, Cespedes, 18 HR). If and when David Wright comes back, the Mets lineup could be scary. Any of these four players can carry a team on offense.

The Mets are built for the future, but they can win now.

They have three “stud pitchers,” and their two relievers Jeurys Familia and Clippard have a combined 46 saves. The Amazin’s also have a favorable schedule down the stretch, they only play 15 games against teams with an over .500 record.

New York will make the playoffs, and with their pitching and offense, they have a legitimate chance to win the World Series this year.

When the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, their announcer, Sam Rosen said, “The waiting is over!” Mets fans have suffered long enough, but, the wait is over.

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I’m a former AAU and college basketball coach with over 15 years experience. Last summer, I was inducted into the Ramapo College Hall of Fame. After coaching for many years, I realized I had some very interesting and funny stories to share and started touring the country as a comedian. I have performed at the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, The Laugh Factory and Caroline’s in New York City. I am a former graduate of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. The Sports Whisperer is a featured guest on several podcasts across the country. In just 11 months I have written over 250 articles. Some of my preseason predictions included Marcus Mariota winning the Heisman Trophy, Aaron Rodgers winning the NFL’s MVP, Duke over Wisconsin in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and Stephen Curry winning the NBA’s MVP.